Following the former South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun’s suicide, there were a lot of discussions on the similarities between Roh and the former Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian in Taiwan. However, pro-KMT and pro-China media immediately started another cycle of humiliation towards Chen and one went as far as asking ‘Roh killed himself. How about Chen?’ There were a number of commentaries calling Chen ‘shameless’.

The Presidential Office Spokesperson, Wang Yu-chih, who represents Ma Ying-jeou and the Presidential Office, told the press that they were sorry about this tragedy BUT as Roh chose to preserve his dignity [by committing suicide], we can only praise/applaud (肯定) this.

Wang was heavily criticised by both the DPP and the KMT legislators for showing approval for suicide and being insensitive to Roh’s family and South Korean people’s feelings. A lot of people also questioned what Wang or Ma Ying-jeou was trying to imply. So on the following day, he argued that he was not expressing approval for the suicide but people like Roh taking his honour and dignity so seriously.

Please see the following clip for what Wang said.

Wang’s response and what it may have tried to imply indicates a lack of human decency. Even if his explanation the next day stands, he still seemed to be glorifying suicide. It is unbelievable that it came from a spokesperson for a president. Was it simply Wang’s blunder or actually Ma’s real stance? This is not the first time Wang got criticised for his announcments and remarks. If there have only been a couple of mistakes, Wang is the problem. If Wang got to keep his job after making nemerous serious mistakes, then his boss is probably the real problem.

Email Subscription

Taiwan, also known as Formosa, is NOT part of China. The majority of the population see themselves as Taiwanese, NOT Chinese. Taiwan is a democracy and therefore people there do not wish to be ruled by China, a dictatorship with poor human rights record and about 2,000 missiles aiming at Taiwan.